Town
Created by James
Tue 07/10/08 (day 7)
Hong Kong
Well It was a long and tiring flight (first long haul for us both) but we made it (endless movies at the touch of a button helped!)
We spent our first couple of days in Ngong Ping which was a lovely place, the scenery on the bus ride from Tung Chung was brilliant, although the ride itself was a bit scary!
We booked into the S.G Davis Hostel for 2 nights which,.. well lets just say we knew we were jumping into the deep end! heh
It was very basic but could be cleaner, a bit out in the sticks and no where to get food or drink after 6pm (Mr Man the owner was lovely though). We had a good full day at Ngong Ping however seeing the Giant Bhudda and Po Lin Monastry, very cool place and plenty to do for the day.
We headed into Kowloon jet lagged and tired after no sleep (a late group arrived at the hostel and kept everyone awake till 4am!) so to get us back on track we booked ourselves into the Prudential Hotel (4 star! ;-) which was just what we needed. Loved Kowloon, we walked round the park and saw some Kung Fu demonstrations, went to the Avenue of Stars on the evening and watched the Symphony of Lights where they light up the skyline which was brilliant.
We set out to look around Temple Street night market but a typhoon hit and it absolutely chucked it down, so we sheltered in a local side street restaurant and had some dinner... and got a bit drunk on local beer! hehe.
For the last night we checked into yesinn hostel over on mainland Hong Kong. On another level to Ngong Ping; small but cosey, comfortable and clean rooms and super friendly staff who spoke great englsh (Hiya Kitz!). On the last day we went up on the Peak Tram which was brilliant, breathtaking views at the top although it was slightly cloudy when we went.
We're back in Hong Kong airport (by the way, Hong Kong transport is fantastic, clean and easy, I reconmend buy an Octopus Card [bit like Londons Oyster card] if you are there for a few days). We were going to get to Guilin by train but looked to be a bit of a hassle so are flyng instead. Will let you know how we get on in mainland China! :-P
Jay & Bex x
Planned Activities
Wed 01/10/08 (day 1) - London
Thu 02/10/08 (day 2) - Hong Kong
Thing to Do
Mon 06/10/08 (day 6) - Hong Kong
Town
Wed 08/10/08 (day 8) - Guilin
Thing to Do
Fri 10/10/08 (day 10) - Yangshuo
Town
Thu 16/10/08 (day 16)
Transportation
Fri 17/10/08 (day 17) - Chengdu
Town
Mon 20/10/08 (day 20) - Chengdu
Transportation
Well its taken such a long time but the apartment is nearly sold (hopefully we'll complete next week) so we have started looking into our 3 month travel plans, which start at the end of September and we'll be arriving back just before Christmas.
At the moment this is what we've drafted up:
Over to China for the first 4-5 weeks; have a week in Hong Kong, then fly out to Guilin for about a week, with a few days out in Yangshau (you can get a 4 hour boat journey down the Li River to Yangshau which looks amazing), then we are going to make our way to Shanghai from Guilin by train, stopping at numerous places on the way (still to be decided).
Then after a few days in Shanghai we will fly to Auckland, New Zealand and travel round both the north and south islands. We still need to plot this route, we've got some great idea's from so many of our friends that have been already, so we just need to mark down the key area's.
Then after 6 weeks in New Zealand, we'll go over to the States, stopping at LA for about a week and then onto New York for a weeks festive fun and shopping before returning home for Christmas.
I'll keep this trip updated as our plans come together, and please if you have any travel advice, any suggestions about where to go and what to see, please post up a message, especially for Guilin-Shanghai stops and what to see in LA/NY.
TTFN,
James
Photo's look fab. Majorly jealous!!! Brings backs memories of travelling.
Have a gret time and send some more picks!
Love Lisa & Kev
Loving the pictures you have taken, the one of you and bex with the city lit up behind you is a nice pic of you both.
Id love to say cant wait to see you both, but id rather say, keep on enjoying your expedition
Craig x